St. Mary´s Church

Largo de Santa Maria

St. Mary´s Church
At the Largo dos Santos Próculo e Hilarião square (or simply St.

Mary´s main square), near the Castle, stands Igreja de Santa Maria, Serpa´s mother church, one of the first built in the town and erected, in the 14th century, where there was once an old Arab mosque.

The exterior architecture displays a mighty entrance portal, with thick pillars that support the statues of St Peter and of St Paul; to the left, the square-shaped bell-tower is the main element.

Three naves separated by arches that are held by pillars complete the interior decoration; the central main chapel, dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, dominates all the church.

At the secondary chapels, rich Baroque decorations can be admired, specially the gilded wood-work.

Worthy of mention are the images of Christ and the extremely beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fátima, as well as the decorated pillars that exhibit human and naturalistic motifs.